An Organizational Socialization Perspective on Young Adults’ Ideas About Retirement: Examining Sources of Retirement Information, Meanings of Retirement, and Source-Meaning Associations

This study drew from literature on organizational socialization, namely an early phase called vocational anticipatory socialization (VAS), to examine the sources of information from which young adults learn about retirement, the meanings they ascribe to retirement, and associations between sources of retirement information and meanings. In study 1, quantitative content analysis was used to code 671 responses from young adults. In study 2, semi-structured interviews with 16 young adults were conducted and abductively analyzed. Results revealed 16 sources of information about retirement with grandparents and parents emerging as primary sources, and 13 meanings of retirement (e.g., freedom from work, financial issues, how time is spent, life phase, physical decline) that can be combined to construct negative or positive framings. In addition, chi-square analyses indicated significant associations between some source-meaning combinations in study 1, whereas study 2 revealed the nature of explicit and implicit advice from family members. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.